Foxworthy, Inc. v. Commissioner of IRS

Case: 11-12733 Date Filed: 11/05/2012 Page: 1 of 3
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 11-12733; 11-12735; 11-12736
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Agency Nos. 14612-05; 20725-03; 18969-04
FOXWORTHY, INC.,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Petitioner - Appellant
llllllllllllllllllllllllllll Cross Appellee,
versus
COMMISSIONER OF IRS,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllRespondent - Appellee
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllCross Appellant.
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No. 11-13037; 11-15172; 11-15173; 11-15174
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Agency Nos. 24533-06; 601-05; 160-04; 21699-05
RON H. BELL,
TRICIA S. BELL,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Petitioners – Appellants,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Case: 11-12733 Date Filed: 11/05/2012 Page: 2 of 3
versus
COMMISSIONER OF IRS,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllRespondent - Appellee.
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Petitions for Review of a Decision of the
U.S. Tax Court
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(November 5, 2012)
Before BARKETT and JORDAN, Circuit Judges, and HODGES, ∗ District Judge.
PER CURIAM:
Ron and Tricia Bell and Foxworthy Inc. appeal a Tax Court order sustaining
notices of deficiencies issued by the Internal Revenue Service and holding that the
Bells owed nearly $6 million in deficient tax payments, nearly $5.5 million in
fraud penalties, and nearly $100,000 in late filing penalties. At issue in this appeal
are the Bells’ tax liabilities for the tax years 1996-2001 and the tax liabilities of
Foxworthy for the tax years 1999-2001. The Tax Court found that the Bells
intentionally concealed income through a variety of domestic and offshore
transactions that were shams or otherwise lacked economic substance. The Tax
Court also found that Foxworthy was a sham corporation and was used by Mr. Bell
for the sole purpose of repatriating offshore income and as a vehicle for tax
∗
Honorable Wm. Terrell Hodges, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida,
sitting by designation.
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Case: 11-12733 Date Filed: 11/05/2012 Page: 3 of 3
deductible spending on personal consumption. As a result, the Tax Court held that
Foxworthy’s separate corporate identity must be disregarded for tax purposes and
all of Foxworthy’s income should be imputed to the Bells.
We review the Tax Court’s findings under the clearly erroneous standard.
Bone v. C.I.R., 324 F.3d 1289, 1293 (11th Cir. 2003). Having reviewed the
record and considered the oral argument of counsel, we cannot say that the Tax
Court’s findings of fact were clearly erroneous. Nor do we find error in the Tax
Court’s conclusions of law.
AFFIRMED.
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